The Lunchbox Brigade

I am a closet member of the Irish Lunchbox brigade. Every morning I run from the house to my car with a big lunchbox stashed under my coat. I am not ready to admit to my neighbours that I can no longer afford to live the life of a galloping gourmand.

Napoleon said that an army marches on it's stomach and I took that to heart. We used to have a morning meeting during which we would allocate around 5 minutes to work matters and 25 minutes to where we would go for lunch that day. We would refer to weekend restaurant reviews to assist with the decision making process. Now I spend 30 minutes alone every evening considering what the contents of tomorrows lunchbox will be.

While you might not want the neighbours watching you head off to work with your Bob the Builder Lunchbox, there is nothing to be embarassed about when you arrive at the office. In fact the morning meeting now allows for a few minutes of information exchange. Useful tips on tasy sandwich fillers, how to stop your bread going soggy, how to make soup! I recently recommended planning Sunday lunch with the following weeks lunches in mind. Next Sunday we are going to have a large (very large) smoked ham. That could keep me going for months.

Bringing a lunchbox is also good for your diet - I think. Fruit fits nicely into the standard size box, as does yogurt, cheese and maye some tasty vegetables. The nutritional advice recomending fuit and vegetables may or may not be a load of hot air but these types of foods certainly produce quite an amount of air themselves. Is this good for the environment?

It is almost lunchtime now and I can't wait. I like to listen to the (BAD BAD BAD) News on the internet while force feeding myself another apple and another orange and another banana and maybe a carrot. I need my daily dose of misery to help me stay away from those overpriced restaurants with their mouthwateringly tasty starters, their big juicy steaks served with fresh local vegetables all cooked to perfection. I sit here dreaming of things like napkins, tablecloths and knives and forks!!! I remember things like a waitress clearing the table while you read the paper. Now it's simply a case of wiping your desk down wth your Lidl Kitchen roll and back to work. We had a short spell when we lived to eat, now it's back to eating to live. Damn I forgot my soup!